Rock, Paper, Scissors
by Naomi Miyoko
Summary: We'll die if we try to stay. We'll die if we try to leave. It couldn't be more obvious. We're going to die in this damned treehouse. AU Oneshot, Deathfic, some Fluff, Spoilers for Warriors, Macabre details and Angst. JeLu and some NaLu, GrayLu, NaLi, Gruvia, Loza, LaMi, LoLe and Jerza. Slow start, but worth reading and reviewing. Some may consider M rated. Update: alternate ending.
1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to tell you all a story. After reading an inspiring true story, I adapted it into a Fairy Tail fanfiction. Of course, it's a major adaption, given that the original was more inspiring, and this one is a lot sadder. If you would have prefered a happier ending, I'm sorry. I physically can't make this fanficiton happy. I can only make it realistic.**

**And the tenses are switched every now and then to better your understanding of what happens. If I wrote it all in past tense, it would be way to annoying to read.**

**Alternate summary -**

**Natsu dreamed about getting a treehouse, and his dream rubbed off on his two best friends - Lucy and Gray.**

**After much hard work, and years of waiting, they all get their treehouse.**

**The teenagers never realized that their childhood dream would unfold such horrendous events, and yet, they can't forget one thing.**

**They ****_wanted_**** this.**

**They ****_wanted _****this fucking treehouse. **

**They wished for it. They prayed for it. They dreamed about it. They wanted it. ****_They needed it._**

**Now, they will face the repercussions.**

* * *

**_August 9__th__, 2005 –_**

I kind of… don't know what to say. Mom gave me a journal, and she told me to write in it, because one day I could look back and read what I'd written. She said it would be fun, and I could practice expressing my feelings, since I don't like talking much. After all, who's listening? You're certainly not.

Just a moment ago, I told my mom that this wasn't very fun, and she laughed gently, telling me that it would take time. Apparently, it's awkward at first, but I'll get used to it.

I'd like to start by telling you a little about myself, but only a little.

My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'm fourteen years old. I'll be starting eighth grade soon, and I have blonde hair and brown eyes. I look just like my mom, at least that's what a lot of people say.

My dad's very mean.

Sorry, but my mom made me cross that out. Speaking of which, _she's standing right behind me._

I don't think this is a good time, Journal. I might get back to you, but I don't think so.

This isn't fun.

* * *

**_September 23__rd__, 2005 –_**

I started eighth grade today. Although it's been over a month, my mom told me that it would be a good idea to write in you.

Still, I don't think I'll ever reminisce about this day sometime in the future.

I was at the bus stop when the bus pulled up, and I couldn't tell if it was mine or the high schools. I started to quickly walk over to it, since I needed to ask the driver whose bus it was.

As I got out in front of it, I heard her step on the gas, and my eyes stretched open at the sound. Before I could comprehend, the front of the big yellow bus mildly connected with my side, and I went down like a pin struck by a bowling ball.

Abruptly, the wheels stopped moving and I heard shouting. The door to the bus opened, and many people started pouring out from the door, kids I didn't know, and a large middle-aged woman.

"Someone call the ambulance!" She shouted to the teenagers, who didn't hesitate to whip their phones out of their pockets.

"No!" I shouted, standing up with minor difficulty. "I'm… fine."

The bus driver looked at me like I'd risen from the dead, and analyzed my body. "Are you sure?" She spoke with worry, but I could see that she was secretly thinking about all the bad things that would happen to her if I was to go to the hospital.

They'd surely need to know how I'd gotten my wounds, and she'd lose her job.

"I'm sure." I sucked up the pain, making sure not to wince when she poked the side that had been hit.

I don't know how, but I ended up getting away with it. Many of the kids regarded me as some sort of superwoman, as they'd never seen anyone get hit by a bus and stand up less than a minute later. As far as they knew, I escaped unscathed.

Before second period, I was already a sensation in the school. Almost everyone was talking about me and what happened.

It was lunchtime, and I was at the cafeteria early. I sat down at a random table. Not too much later on, other people strolled in, and two guys sat down beside me. They introduced themselves as Natsu and Gray, who looked quite striking. The table was soon filled with more people. Gray told me who they were. Erza – the redhead, Loke – the player, Levy – the bookworm, Jellal – the delinquent, Mira – the badass, and Laxus – the bodybuilder.

It didn't take me long to realize that these were the popular kids of the school, who were heavily interesting in me and my story. They wanted proof, so I lifted up my shirt, showing them the discolored skin around my ribs.

"Whoa." Gray commented.

Jellal reached forward stoically, pressing down on the bruise, and hard. My face contorted into a snarl, as it hurt, and Natsu slapped his hand away.

"What were you thinking?" The pink-haired guy spoke.

Jellal shrugged. "I wanted to see if it was real."

The girl named Erza scowled, and immediately started scolding him.

After lunch, Natsu and Gray told me that we'd be great friends.

I do hope so.

When I got home, I was pleased to find out that news hadn't reached my parents. I didn't want to go and get prodded with needles at the hospital, so I didn't tell them about how I was hit by the bus earlier.

Maybe the damage will heal itself.

Hold on, someone's calling me. I think it's Natsu, since I gave him my phone number.

I will write again. You just wait.

* * *

**_September 26__th__, 2005 –_**

School is as predictable as ever.

Hundreds of children stream out of their classes into the hall, packed like sardines in the small pathway. People run, people shove, people fall, and teachers yell.

I did an experiment today.

Before classes dismissed, I set a twenty-dollar bill beside a row of lockers. It was in a place that was easily seen, but it would take time and effort to reach it.

I waited.

The bell blared out of the speakers, causing the hall to fill, and the stampede of kids surged outwards in all directions. Not a single person stopped to get the twenty-dollar bill, and that's because no one even saw it. They were too absorbed in their own little worlds to notice their surroundings.

_**What else are we missing?**_

* * *

**_October 2__nd__, 2005 –_**

I feel bad that I didn't get back to you. Is that normal?

I don't know, but I'm starting to see promise in you. I happen to like writing in here, as I want to become a writer one day. In a way, this is like practice.

My conversation with Natsu nine days ago was pretty common, but we actually hung out today. Gray also came over, and it seems like they're my two closest friends. They share the same sentiments.

Natsu told me one of his childhood dreams. He wants to build a tree house. Gray and I also find this interesting. I mean, who wouldn't want a place all to themselves, where no adults are allowed?

I told them that I could ask my parents to buy one, and they'd have no problem with it, but Natsu has a different mindset. He wants to build one with his own two hands.

Though I find it silly, my raven-haired friend also wants to build it. We tried to come up with a plan, but none of us have money. None of us have jobs.

As soon as our hopes were brought up, they tumbled back down. I know that it'll never work, between time of labor involved and the labor itself. Still, I don't tell them this. They probably wouldn't want to hear the pessimistic side of me.

School hasn't changed too much, but I can already point out the obvious relationships. Jellal is with Erza, Mira is with Laxus, and it seems like Levy and Loke have chemistry. Then again, Loke has 'chemistry' with any girl in sight.

That's enough for today. I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep.

Goodnight, Journal.

* * *

**_December 25__th__, 2005 –_**

It's been a… long time. It's hard to believe how much has gone wrong in these two months.

I really don't want to talk about it, but I have to tell you.

It all started just 9 days ago.

My mother dropped me off at the store, giving me a huge wad of money. She told me to use that money however I wanted.

Being this close to Christmas, I knew exactly what I was going to do with the money. I walked into Lowes, and ordered everything possibly needed to build a tree house. It would be a present for Natsu and Gray. I had the supplies delivered discreetly, just in case they happened to see a Lowes truck pulling up and dropping off everything.

The next day, something… terrible happened. I didn't go to school that week.

It was on Christmas when Gray stopped by, and I'll write it as if it were in a story, so it's easier for you to understand what happened.

"L-Lucy?" He stuttered when he saw my face, which was flooded with tears.

My bottom lip lightly quivered as I tried not to cry in front of him, but it was pointless. I threw my arms around Gray, whimpering his name as I cried into his chest.

He reassuringly set his hands on my back. "What's wrong?" He spoke softly.

"My mom," I shivered from the chilly air coming through the still-open door. "My mom…" My voice was raspy from crying so much. "She's dead."

"I'm sorry, Lucy." Gray ran his fingers through my hair, trying to calm me down. "I'm so sorry."

I sank into his embrace, so happy that he was here for me. "I'm glad that you came, Gray." Then I remembered what today was, and I blanched. "But, don't you have family to be spending today with?"

"You're all the family I need." He whispered, his voice relaxing me.

Gray slept over tonight, and I was thankful that he did, because tonight, I accidently found my Christmas present from my mom.

It was rough to find such a thing.

My father wouldn't have consoled me, but Gray did. I couldn't ask for a better friend.

He's currently sleeping, so I thought that I'd go ahead and write this down. Everything still feels like a dream, but the funeral is in two days, and I'm sure that's when it'll be all too real.

I can't say that I'll write down anything soon. This is almost too much.

* * *

**_February 5__th__, 2006 –_**

My grades are failing.

My life is bland.

I'm hopeless.

Natsu and Gray are always supporting me, but I don't have any drive. I'm even a bigger failure than I ever was in the eyes of my father, and sometimes he threatens to kick me out.

Wouldn't I make a perfect bum? Those homeless people are a grim reminder of how horrible life can be.

I know that my mother would want me to keep writing in you, but I have to get my shit together. Until then, you won't hear so much as a whisper from me.

Have fun collecting dust.

* * *

**_November 16__th__, 2009 –_**

Everyone has really helped me. I'm doing better, and I've gotten over my mother's death.

I know how long it's been, so I might as well bring you up to speed.

I'm in high school now.

I'm still friends with everyone I originally was friends with, in fact, we still all sit together at lunch.

That's all I'm going to say for now, because it's like we're starting over again. It feels like we're strangers now, huh, Journal?

* * *

**_December 11__th__, 2009 –_**

Something really… messed up happened today.

I got a text on my phone after dark on Friday. It was an unknown number, and it said 'Meet me at the park.'

It creeped me out, as I was always a magnet for trouble. Still, not two minutes later, I was leaving through the window. Curiosity always got the best of me.

Walking through the small, deserted park was scary, but I carried on. Pulling out my phone, I texted the number, asking where in the park they wanted to meet me.

Again, I'm going to write things in a different tense. It's just so much easier to understand, and it helps me practice my writing skills.

A chuckle sounded from behind me, and I heard someone say 'Right here.'

Whirling around, I was face to face with the last person I thought it would be. "Jellal?"

"Hey, Lucy." He calmly stated.

"You scared me!" I frowned.

An amused smile played on his lips. "Sorry about that."

Taking a small step back, I got out of his personal space. "Why did you want me to meet you?"

"I wanted to tell you that Erza's cheating on me." Jellal looked mischievous, although what he was saying was of a different mood.

"I'm sorry." I gave him my condolences. "What are you going to do about it?"

He gave me a sly look. "See, that's where you come in, Lucy. I'm going to cheat on her with you."

"Wha-?" I yelped as he ripped off my shirt as if it was wrapping paper on a present.

Jellal pushed me down, and I painfully landed on a park bench. He followed, his weight keeping me pinned to the wood.

"Lucy," He groaned, reaching around to undo the clasp to my bra. "I've always wanted you."

"Get off me!" I snarled, but there was no way for me to fight against him.

His hand cupped my breast, rubbing the right spots, making it feel really good. It was too late for me to silence the moans after they left my lips.

"You know you want it." Jellal declared gruffly, pressing himself against me through his pants.

It was just primal instinct. He was hot, and he was touching me, so it seemed self-explanatory.

"We're in a park, Jellal." I pointed out our location, still reluctant.

"I know that." The blue-haired man reached down, and I heard his belt buckle pop open.

With what strength I had left, I managed to forcefully roll us off the bench, and he landed on the ground stunned. I quickly got to my feet, taking a step forward before he grabbed my ankle, pulling me down.

I crashed to the sidewalk, my face and body scuffed up from the friction, and I was sure to have marks later.

"Lucy," He growled, taking hold of my hair. Jellal tugged on the strands, making me yelp in pain, and he whispered into my ear. "stop making this so difficult."

Depressingly, I realized that he had me. With my face in the asphalt and his successful attempt to keep me immobilized, I was doomed.

_"Please _let me go." I stressed the pleading, trying to make him feel guilty. "Don't do this, or I'll… I'll-"

"What will you do? Call the police? I'm not afraid of the law. You couldn't hurt a fly, Heartfilia." He jeered, making sure to use my last name.

While I tried to think of a reply, he tore off what I was still wearing, and I whimpered in protest.

I gave up when I felt him pressing against my opening. Pleading was pointless, reasoning was pointless, _everything_ was pointless.

I shivered as Jellal leaned down, his teeth nibbling at the skin on my neck. He purred, slowly pushing himself into me just a little more, and it already was painful. "Stop," I almost shouted. "It hurts!"

The blue-haired man paused, realizing that the resistance he was feeling was my hymen. For a second, I thought he would stop, but instead, he pushed himself into me harder.

Tears sprung up in my eyes, and I did something stupid. "I'll do anything." I whispered a promise, too weak to take the pain.

He halted, tempted by my offer.

Somewhat sensible now, he pulled out, flipping me over. "Anything?"

"Anything." I confirmed, looking up at his face, which was heavily shadowed by the streetlights.

"Then date me until Erza's jealous and wants me back." He told me what I would have to do to make him stop.

There was no thinking to do. Sorely, I nodded, making a deal with the devil.

His eyes – and hands – greedily searched my body, as if inspecting a trophy he'd just received. "Then it seems we have a deal, Lucy."

Jellal stood back up, dressed himself, and took one last look at me. I was still shocked with the whole thing, and I hadn't even moved an inch yet. "You should hurry and get home. You wouldn't want anyone to think that you got _raped _now, would you?" He wore a laughing smile, amused at his own joke. "I'll see you on Monday." He waved me off before walking away.

Now I'm contemplating the consequences of this. What do I tell Natsu and Gray?

At least you know the truth.

* * *

**_December 14__th__, 2009 –_**

I wish I could say that today went badly, but it went perfectly according to Jellal's plan. We held hands, hugged, and kissed in school. Natsu and Gray haven't talked to me yet, and I don't want to lie to them, but I'm afraid that if I tell them the truth, Jellal will get mad. I don't want him to be angry. He looks like he'd get abusive.

I have to hide my fear of him, at least until our deal is over. My mom always taught me that if you make a deal with someone, you make sure that you do exactly what was asked.

Sadly, I do plan on doing so.

Erza is supposed to be getting jealous, but I think she sees right through him. I hope I don't have to do this much longer.

* * *

**_January 11__th__, 2010 –_**

We're _still_ dating.

I don't think that Erza is ever going to envy us. She's too happy sleeping with Loke to really care about Jellal.

Speaking of the blue-haired man, he's been more charming as the days go on, in and out of school. I'm starting to think that to him, this is more than some plan to him. It's real.

By the way, I ended up lying to Natsu and Gray. It hurts to say that, but it's true. Now they're pulling away from me, treating me like I'm an entirely different person.

I'm slowly getting depressed, but Jellal can't tell. He couldn't tell a real smile from a fake one. He can't tell how taxing this is on me.

I'm starting to doubt my decision, and that isn't good.

Oh, Journal, what can I do?

* * *

**_January 29__th__, 2010 –_**

I don't want to admit it, but I'm starting to warm up to Jellal.

It's a scary thing for me. I don't want to be with him. I want to be with my best friends Natsu and Gray, but they seem like they don't know how to talk to me anymore.

They're leaving me behind, Journal. I hate it. I hate it so much.

I need my best friends back.

* * *

**_February 4__th__, 2010 –_**

Jellal decided to come over last night.

This is how everything went:

"Luuucy." Jellal tapped at the glass idly, his voice utterly toneless.

Setting down my book, I made my way over to the window, opening it. I don't know if people like him – criminals – are just born with the agile abilities to fluidly climb through a window like it was a door, but all I know is that he can. It never fails to boggle my mind as to how he can enter my room via window in two seconds flat.

I didn't need to ask why he was here. Jellal always comes here to simply plot out our jealously schemes for the week.

"What's new, Jellal?" Dully, I wondered what was on his mind.

"Nothing in particular." He vaguely stated.

Taking a seat, I re-placed the book I'd been reading in my lap. "No tricky plotting?" I mused, skimming through the book to find the page I was on. "I can't say that I'll miss that."

He pondered my response, as if trying to decipher my hidden meaning. "What are you reading?" Changing the subject, he shifted his attention to what I was holding.

"A book." Staying mildly cryptic, I resumed reading the one hundredth and thirteenth page.

Jellal scowled, and suddenly, I was simply looking down at my hands.

"What the hell?" I growled, looking up at the blue-haired man.

His fingers thumbed through the book, which he'd just taken from me, stopping at the very last page. "_There will be three cats, kin of your kin, with-"_

"Oh my god!" I stood up abruptly, angry at him. He was reading the ending! I hadn't even gotten that far! "Stop!"

Like it was a game to him, he kept the book out of the reach, still reading. "_-the power of the stars in their paws. They will find a fourth, and the battle between light and dark will be won. A new leader will rise from the shadows of-"_

"No! Stop! You're spoiling everything!" Exasperated, I got a hold of the book.

Because he was merely holding onto the last page, when I pulled the book towards me, the last page ripped right out. Happily, Jellal held the small, thin piece of paper and finished the book. "_-his death, and the Clans will survive beyond memories of his memories. This is how it has always been, and how it will always be."_

After a moment of silence, I spoke up. "You do realize that you just _ruined _the whole book for me."

"I do." He held the last page out for me, but I didn't take it. "Do I have your attention now?"

I lied. "You always had my attention."

Crumpling up the last page, he let it fall to the ground. "No. The book had your attention."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, a frown forming on my face. "Why do you need my attention?"

He grinned slyly. "I like having it."

"There's got to be something more to it than that." Confident, I gazed up at him.

"Nope." Confirming so, his eyes twinkled with laughter at my crestfallen expression.

"I don't understand." I quietly thought about his motives, mumbling aloud a comment to keep the conversation going.

"Really?" He stepped a little closer, running his fingers through my golden hair. "I find it simple."

"S-Simple?" Stuttering, I felt slightly intoxicated from the scent he gave off.

"I just like being around you, Lucy." Jellal admitted.

My heart fluttered in my chest, but I forced it to stay calm. Still, I decided to use this to my advantage. "Then, you surely wouldn't mind playing Monopoly with me now, would you?"

His face fell. "Oh no…" Jellal whimpered. "You know I hate that game."

"Yes, but you'll enjoy my company, right?" Grinning devilishly, I fought back the urge to laugh.

"Is this payback for spoiling your book?" The blue-haired man asked.

"It certainly is." Stepping away from him, I retrieved the board game, laying it out on the floor.

I chose to be the shoe. Jellal chose to be the d-

"No!" I slapped his hand away when he tried to set the dog piece down.

A little surprised at my outburst, he looked up.

Shifting my gaze down, a little embarrassed at my actions, I decided to explain. "I don't like dogs."

Instead of prying, he moved forward. "Do you like cars?" He joked, feigning hesitant to put the car piece down.

"Yeah… I like cars." My whole face was red.

He set his piece down, starting the game.

"Why do I always go to jail?" Jellal complained as he moved the car into the jail space for the twelfth time.

"I don't know, maybe because you _do_ go to jail?" Bringing up his real life, I laughed as he grumbled some more. "Can I ask you a question?"

"No. No you cannot." He frowned, still fuming about being in jail.

"Awww, please…"

"No." Firmly, he denied my simple request.

"I'll give you Park Place," He perked up, listening to me. "and Pacific Avenue."

"How about Park Place and Boardwalk?" Jellal tried negotiating.

Looking down at the board, I weighed the decision. I had a hotel on Boardwalk, so it would be a bad deal to agree to.

"Would you consider Park Place, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Pennsylvania Avenue?" I attempted to reach a compromise.

"Give me Park Place, Pennsylvania Avenue, the Electric Company, and Water Works. Then… only then… you can ask me a question." He set his standards high.

"Fine." I agreed, handing him the properties. "Now, here's my question, since I've always been curious. Where did you get that tattoo?" Pointing to the one on his face, I specified. "Well, not really where you got it, but I'm just curious about it in general."

He mulled it over in his mind. "Well, the gang I'm in has this trademark thing. All the members have to have this tattoo somewhere."

"You're in a gang?" A little surprise hinted in my voice.

I knew he was… bad… but I didn't think that he was in a _gang._

Bringing his fingers up to his smirking lips, he made a gesture for silence. "Shhh…" He whispered. "it's a secret."

The thought of it thrilled me, since it seemed like he couldn't be more of a rebel if he tried.

Towards the end of the game, Jellal managed to win. After the deal we'd made, things for me had just gone downhill from there.

I rubbed my eyes sleepily. It was 2:14 AM. "You're staying over tonight, right?"

"Yeah." His voice was gravelly from tiredness.

In all honesty, I didn't really have to ask. When he came over, he always spent the night. After all, it'd be rude to send him home this early in the morning.

Getting up, I walked out of the room to get a sleeping bag from the hallway closet. He never complained about sleeping on the floor, and I liked that about him.

"Here you go." I handed him the familiar sleeping bag, and he grunted in approval.

After settling down in bed, Jellal spoke up from his usual spot. "I'm cold."

"Do you want a blanket?" Groggily, I sat up, prepared to go and get him one.

"No."

His reply came unexpectedly, and I was confused. "Then what do you want?"

I could see his amber eyes slightly gleaming in the dark. "I want you." He sounded husky.

Again, he shocked me. "But…" Thinking for a quick excuse, I used his own. "I'm cold too."

"Together, warm we can be." Jellal reasonably prophesized, using his best Yoda voice.

Cracking a smile, I started laughing, humored with him. "How did you know I liked Star Wars?"

"Who doesn't like Star Wars?" He answered my question with another question.

"Do you honestly want me to come down there?" I continued the charade.

The blue-haired man hummed, and I took it as a yes. Sighing, I decided that it couldn't hurt, and I got out of bed.

He was surprised, pleasantly surprised, when I unzipped the big sleeping bag, sliding into place beside him.

"Are you warmer now?" Content, I murmured in his ear.

"I'm much, much warmer." He muttered back, reaching around to zip the zipper back up.

Whether it was intentional or not, his cold fingertips flitted across my body after he finished closing up the side of the sleeping bag. "Jellal," I whispered his name.

One of my hands slid down his bare chest, feeling the muscles that rippled from beneath his slightly rough skin. It wasn't surprising that he was that muscular, considering that he was an athletic _legend_ at our school.

"I'm tired." Reluctantly, I finished, voicing up my wish to sleep.

He didn't push his luck, instead retreating to simply holding me close to his body.

I mean honestly, after he destroyed my book – by the way, it was Warriors: The Last Hope – and we played four hours of Monopoly, I wasn't in _that_ kind of mood.

Still, that doesn't mean that we didn't do anything on that day.

That's what mornings were for.

Upon waking today, I found that I had a sore throat. It didn't take me long to get out of the sleeping bag – without disrupting Jellal's sleep – and spritz some spray medicine inside my mouth.

Instantly, I got relief of the symptoms.

After eating some cereal and returning to my room, I was a little surprised to see that Jellal was still there. Typically, he'd leave early in the morning, but he was still fast asleep.

"Hey sleeeeeepy head, wake up." I tried shaking him awake, but he was out cold.

I did everything I could think of.

I took away the sleeping bag.

I played really loud heavy metal music.

I put a cup of coffee under his nose, hoping the smell would wake him up.

I even resorted to making bacon, and trying to shove it in his mouth.

"Come on, Jellal. I know you love bacon." Pushing the piece through his lips, I watched in victory as his jaws slightly closed down on the familiar food.

"Mmmm." He groaned in his sleep, biting down on the food harder. "Bacon." Then he grumbled, rolling over in a way that pulled the bacon out.

"Oh my god…" Annoyed, I threw away the bacon.

It took four minutes to get everything that I was certain could wake him up. Taking his hands, I tied his wrists together, this way, he couldn't retaliate. I also blindfolded him.

Grabbing baby oil, I poured it on my hands, a devilish smirk on my face.

I reached out for his sides, closing my hands around them and-

He started squirming from beneath me, snapping awake. "_Staaaaaahhpp it!" _Giggling, he bit down on his lips, trying to hide the smile on them.

Tickling him more, I watched as his breathing came rapidly, gasping for air.

Even though he didn't want to, he laughed really hard as I jabbed behind his neck, wiggling my fingers there.

Jellal fought against his restraints, now deeply frowning at my antics.

"This is what you get for not waking up." Immensely amused, I tickled behind his ears, his knees, and his feet.

"_Please stop, oh my god, please, please, please, stop-" _He broke off in a girlish shout as I ran my fingers along his upper arms, his body collapsing. "_please… I'm so tired." _Jellal was crying from me forcing him to laugh so much.

I made him think that I was stopping, but I wasn't done just yet.

"My pride…" He sobbed comically. "My pride is crushed."

Jellal jerked as I sprinkled baby powder on his belly. "What are you doing?" He blindly shook his head back and forth, trying to figure it out.

"Apparently, baby powder heightens the sensitivity of your skin." I gave him a second to let that sink in before lightly walking my fingers up his stomach, earning whimpers from him.

Running my fingernails back down his taut belly, I listened as he started begging for mercy.

I looked over him one last time, deciding that I was done. Removing his blindfold, I smirked at the slightly cross look on his face.

"Lucy," He frowned. "that was so unfair."

"How was it unfair?" I narrowed my eyes, idly still circling my fingers around his bellybutton.

Wriggling from beneath me, he attempted to remove the cloth that restrained his hands. "You tied me up."

"I didn't want you to tickle me back." Giving him my side of the story, I laughed at his frown.

"But… that was _torture!_"

"I had to wake you up somehow." I reached up to untie his hands.

As soon as they were free, he rolled over, taking position on top of me. All the baby power and oil transferred from his body to my black shirt, successfully staining it.

"Hey!" Mildly, I exclaimed in surprise.

Jellal hovered over my lips for a second, hissing as he gave into his own temptations. His lips brushed against mine confidently, as he'd kissed me plenty of times, but never this passionately.

Pulling my shirt over my head, Jellal started to tease my skin with his fingers, tickling me for a different reason.

He leaned back from me, his tawny eyes quizzical. "You taste like medicine."

But before I could explain to him, I heard my bedroom door creak open, followed by an awkward gasp.

Both of us looked up to see who'd walked in.

My maid stood in the doorway, her dark purple hair pulled back into a ponytail, causing her odd square-shaped jawline to stick out.

"Who let _you _in?" She brought her nose up in disgust at Jellal.

My father hated him, and so did all the maids and butlers, because he wasn't an 'advisable' person to be with. I guess they think he'll rub off on me.

I could tell that Jellal was about to seriously get angry at this lady, so I quickly responded to her. "Goodbye, Miss Supetto."

Not taking my hint to retreat, she pointed at Jellal, then to the hallway. "You, out."

Sighing, I whispered to Jellal to just leave, because it was pointless to argue with her.

Nodding, he got up, got his things, and slowly made his way to the door. For a second, he paused by my maid, giving her a death glare.

Her eyes widened as she realized how undersized she was, especially compared to him. His built frame towered over her.

As he took a step out of the room, his sudden movement frightened her, causing the poor old woman to nearly leap out of her skin. His laughs echoed down the hallway as he left us behind, the sound of the front door opening and closing signaling his department.

"You get over here," She tried to act like she hadn't just been terrified of my boyfriend. "and put a shirt on."

She scolded me all the way to my father's study, and it angered me. "Will you shut the hell up? You're not my mother!" Snapping at her, I wished that she'd stop talking.

Ignoring me, she shoved me into the room, my father angrily looking up from his deskwork. "What now?"

Explaining what she walked in on, my dad got angry and yelled at me and blah blah blah. I didn't really listen to him.

Ugh, he's so stupid, isn't he, Journal?

* * *

**_February 12__th__, 2010 –_**

You won't believe what I found in the garage.

I found all the supplies, the ones I'd forgotten about. The ones that can build Natsu, Gray and I's dream.

Right now, I need to go and tell them. I can't spend time writing in here.

I hope this solves everything.

* * *

**_April 22__nd__, 2010 –_**

I'm unexpectedly sad, Journal.

I knew this day would come around, and it has.

For memories sake, this is what happened.

I got a text on my phone, and it was Jellal, who wanted me to meet him at the fountain in the park.

Of course, I agreed, once again leaving through the window, since I technically couldn't go anywhere but school. Because of that, if I wanted to go somewhere, I had to use my window.

Again, it didn't take much time to get to the park. It was always just minutes from my house. The only thing was that the fountain was in the center of the park, so I had to walk a lot further to get there.

"Hey, Jellal." I acknowledged him as I walked up to the fountain.

"Lucy." He looked a little unsettled.

"What's up?" Asking him, I peered up at his strained features.

The blue-haired man made circles in the dirt as he lightly rubbed the tip of his shoe into the ground. "I don't know how to say it without sounding too blunt."

Innocently, I gave him permission. "You can be blunt."

His eyes were shadowed as he looked down. "Well… I'm leaving… you."

Shocked, and somewhat hurt, I asked a question. "Is it Erza?"

"Yeah…" Jellal trailed off again.

I smiled, and it was obviously forced. "Well then, it seems that our schemes worked."

"Lucy." He whispered my name, but I hardly heard him.

Somehow, that hidden fear I used to have of him had entirely melted away. I mean, for a while there, we _were _real.

"We can't be friends either, can we?" Quietly, I questioned him, not able to meet his eyes.

He knew what I was talking about.

Our desire.

Our cravings.

Our urges.

Our _lust._

We could never be friends, because we'd always want to be something more.

Jellal impulsively pulled me close, as if trying to comfort me, but it only made me fell even bitterer inside.

"I'll miss you, Lucy." He spoke regretfully, and it was a clear yes to my previous question.

Sinking into his embrace, I savored the feeling of his arms around me for the last time. "I'll miss you too."

It's funny how beginnings and ends can be so different, yet so painstakingly similar at the same time.

When I first went to see him, I'd gotten a text, and I climbed through my window, meeting him here in the park, just like what happened today.

On the other hand, I was afraid of him that first time, and now, I'm hopelessly in love with him.

"I have to get home." Pulling back from him, I decided to be the one who was going to walk away first. "Bye, Jellal."

"Goodbye." He murmured, and I forced myself not to look into his eyes, fearing that I'd lose my self-composure.

I walked all the way back home in a void, no thoughts, and no feelings.

Crawling back through my window, I absently wished that I could get through it like Jellal could, and then I scolded myself for thinking about him.

Then, as I managed to get through, I was greeted by my smug father. "I heard that Jellal broke up with you."

I thought in silence. "You _tailed _me you _asshole!" _Shouting at him, I was like a time bomb of emotions.

"I do what I have to." He ignored my rage, pulling out a list of names. "Here are people I find suitable for you, and marrying them will increase the amount of money my company-"

Ripping the paper from his hands, I tore it into pieces, letting them flutter to the ground. "I don't _care _about any of these people! I don't _care _about you, and your obsession with money! And I surely don't care about-"

"You don't _have_ to care! You will do these things. I don't have a tolerance for the scumbags you 'lov-'"

He broke off when I slammed a porcelain statue in his face, and I heard his nose break from beneath it. Shards of glass stuck in his skin as the statue shattered to pieces.

"He was not a bad guy. _You're _more of a criminal than him." Growling, I spoke in a low voice, fire dancing in my eyes.

My father's hands flew up to his face, and he looked shocked. "OUT!" He screamed. "I want you OUT! And don't you DARE come back."

Whipping around, I threw clothes into a bag, my phone, my charger, everything I'd need, including you. Glaring at my father, I watched blood start dribbling out of his nostrils before I turned around and stalked out of the house.

As I walked on the cobblestone path out of my property, I thought about where I was going to go.

Gray had family. He had his mom Ultear and his brother Lyon. I'd be interrupting their lives if I went there.

Jellal was out of the question, as was Erza.

But Natsu didn't have any family. He lost them in a fire…

Changing directions, I started walking to Natsu's apartment.

That's where I am now, all settled in. He didn't mind the extra company, and he even had a spare room.

He's so happy and enthusiastic, and all he ever talks about is our tree house, and how close we are to it being complete. Just a couple more months, and it's going to be finished.

Natsu's already speculating on what he'll call it. Since we're like a team building it, he wants to call it 'Team Natsu's tree house.'

I approved of the name, but then he said something about Jellal. I must have showed my emotions on my face because he asked me what was wrong.

Of course, I told him about the break up. He tried to cheer me up and he told me to stop crying. In disbelief, I brought my hands up, surprised that I was actually shedding tears.

I guess I was always this emotional.

* * *

**_April 29__th__, 2010 –_**

It's been a tough week.

Natsu's treating me like a fragile plate of fine china, trying not to mention things that upset me and remind me of Jellal, in fear that I'll break.

He doesn't have to bring things up for me to be reminded of my ex. I'm already missing the minor things, like the calls I used to get from him in the morning, the dates we'd go on, and the late nights when I'd let him in through my bedroom window…

On Thursday, my dad called my cell phone. He said that I needed to come home, as he must not have thought that I would have seriously left, and he tells me that I'm too young and naïve to deal with the real world. I told him that I wasn't coming home, and he got upset.

Now I don't have cell service, since he cut off the payments, hoping that it would bring me back.

But, no. I'm staying with Natsu.

Erza and Jellal don't sit with us anymore, so two new people filled in their seats. One is a girl named Juvia, who won't leave Gray alone. Sometimes it makes me angry, because I'm territorial about my friends after almost losing them.

The other person is Lisanna. Natsu seems interested in her, and now the only two things he talks about are Lisanna and 'Team Natsu's tree house.'

Why can't my life be as simple as his?

* * *

**_May 3__rd__, 2010 –_**

Today was horrible.

Natsu invited Lisanna over, and that should explain it enough. They wouldn't stop flirting. Eventually, I just left, hanging around the apartment's playground outside.

Here, I'll switch tenses.

Swinging gently, the wind whipped my hair into my face.

Natsu came out his door not too much later, eventually finding me. "Lucy, why'd you leave?"

"I don't like her." Brutally honest, I told him my opinion.

Grabbing the swing's chain, he stopped my momentum entirely. "You're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." I whimpered, avoiding his gaze.

"You are." Natsu argued.

"You left her alone, Natsu." Pointing back at his apartment, I stood up from the swing. "It's not a good idea to leave your guest. I bet she's getting cold." I half-heartedly joked, as they'd been profusely cuddling with each other.

He was quiet, and I walked away from him, leaving him to his thoughts.

Natsu hasn't said much since, but I know it won't stay that way for long.

I guess, in a way, I am jealous. Gray and Natsu are all I have, and I want them to myself. But then, there they are making new friends, and I'm afraid they'll leave me behind.

I don't want to be alone.

* * *

**_June 7__th__, 2010 –_**

It's been crazy this past month. Between school, homework, and building the tree house on top of normal life and drama, things have been so busy that I haven't had time to write.

Last month was spent entirely on the construction of our tree house, aside from school. Natsu stopped hanging out with Lisanna that day I talked to him about it. Gray ignores Juvia most of the time as well.

Through blood and sweat, we finished the tree house today. Our dream is complete now. I must say, this tree house has brought Natsu, Gray and I so much closer. It's just like it used to be, the three of us having the time of our lives together.

In fact, our graduation party is tomorrow.

Keeping that in mind, I want to make sure that Natsu and Gray will be there. I'll talk to you soon, Journal.

* * *

**_June 11__th__, 2010 -_**

I'm scared.

I'm so scared.

The worst thing is that I can_ hear_ them, and they're _eating –_

I should probably start after we left the party, and I will recall as much as I can, and I will not leave out a detail, Journal. I'm sure that I will be dying soon, and this should let everyone know what happened to me and my two best friends.

I'm warning you now, this is not for the faint hearted, but it's exactly what happened. I'm going to stop telling you when I switch tenses, since it's supposed to be for convenience. Just bear with me.

Natsu and Gray walked on either side of me, beers in all of our hands. It was a great party, and we were wasted. Somehow, I managed to grab you before our venture out into the woods began. We were all headed out to our beloved tree house, and it would be the first time spent in it.

Pine needles crushed from beneath our feet as we trudged on for thirty minutes, finally reaching our secret, secluded wooden tree house, which was built very well.

I started climbing the ladder first, Natsu shortly behind me. "I can see your panties." He noted, his voice gruff from the alcohol.

A giggle forced its way out of my throat, and I joked along playfully. "What color are they?"

"Violet." Natsu commented.

On a normal night, there'd be no way for him to see that well, but it was a full moon and the sky was clear. We could easily see outside.

I flipped on a small lantern, allowing us to see in the enclosed tree house. I mean, in a way, it was really similar to an actual house but… in a tree. Hence the name 'tree house.'

I collapsed on the floor, glad to lie down after that long walk. A few gulps of beer later, I was relaxed again.

We decided to play truth or dare, doing silly things to pass time. It was full of shallow truths and innocent dares, our minds too foggy to really come up with anything good.

After about ten minutes, we heard it.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered to them, curious.

Natsu and Gray piped up. "Yeah."

"It sounds like barking." Pondering the possibilities, I strained my ears to hear.

"It's not important." Gray belittled the howling, one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever make.

I brushed off the sounds, but still stayed alert. After all, we'd heard a bunch of weird animals when we were out here building the tree house.

I noted how the barking was getting closer, so close to the point where it was all I could hear. It was almost deafening.

"Guys!" I whimpered, my voice barely heard over the animal calls outside.

And suddenly, the howling just… stopped. I didn't hear it anymore, and for a split second, I almost thought that it was my imagination in the first place. But then I remember that my two friends had heard it too, so it must have been real.

I don't recall what happened after that point, but I know that I fell asleep. It wasn't, perhaps an hour later, when I woke up in complete silence.

"Gray," Shaking him awake, I called his name sleepily. "we have to get home. It's so late."

Part of me wondered if it was late or really early. I couldn't tell the difference. All we had in the tree house was a few empty beer bottles, and there was defiantly not a clock for me to check the time.

After waking up Natsu and getting dressed, I opened the door in the floor of the tree house to start descending the ladder, stopping abruptly when I saw the moonlit ground.

There were five _big _wild dogs lying down. When the hinge to the door creaked, one of the dogs snapped its head back to peer up at me.

It opened its mouth, and even considering the reputable distance from where I was to the ground, I could see its yellowed canine teeth. A low growl emitted from its throat, causing the other dogs to wake, snarling up at us.

My head slowly turned to look at my friends, who wore the same look as I did.

Fear.

We waited for what I'd call hours. The time was spent in sheer silence, and we hoped that the dogs would go away.

I decided to break that silence. "They know we have to come down eventually." My hands shook as I said this, fear causing my sight to become blurred.

We were all crowded around the door, looking down at their sleeping frames.

Gray spoke sensibly. "Do you think we can sneak past them?"

"Maybe," Natsu whispered, as if talking too loud would wake up the animals. "but if we make any sort of noise, we're… we're…"

"dead." I finished for him.

Another silence settled between us, making my word become fully understood.

"I don't want to take that chance." Tersely, I added on, shaking at the mere thought of being that close to a dog that size.

That pretty much convinced them not to try it.

Still, we did what we could. We cried out for help for hours on end, until our voices were sore, and we knew no one was coming. No one could hear our voices from this deep in the woods.

We threw beer bottles down at them, until we had none left, but the dogs refused to leave. Needless to say, Natsu, Gray and I slept in the tree house that day.

After waking up, I felt hunger clawing at my belly. There was nothing in my stomach but alcohol, and the same went for Gray and Natsu. We opened the door hopefully, and my face paled when I saw that the dogs were still there, waiting. I started crying. I was _so _hungry.

"We don't have food or water, you know what that means?" I babbled through my tears. "We're going to _die _up here, Natsu, Gray. We're going to _die." _

My pink-haired friend stepped forward, shaking my shoulders. "We're _not _going to die. Do you hear me? We are _not _going to die." His confidence was faked.

For our future deaths to be this obvious, it was surprising how dense he was.

We'll die if we try to leave.

We'll die if we try to stay.

That day passed as slowly as the other one, full of anger, tears, and pointless calling for help. One of the dogs left, and we started feeling optimistic.

Perhaps we could outlast them.

That night, however, the dog returned with a dead animal for food, and the others fought him over it viciously. We watched the dogfight with wide eyes, seeing just how primitive these creatures were.

"What if that was one of us down there?" Natsu whimpered.

Gray tried to fill us with false hope. "We won't be down there. Someone's bound to find us. Your dad knows about the tree house, right Lucy?"

I held back tears as I shook my head. "No one knows, Gray. We're all alone." Whispering, I heard Natsu start to cry, finally accepting the facts.

They say men are tougher than girls, so when I saw my raven-haired friend give way to his own tears, I knew that our ends were near.

We cried ourselves to sleep that night, our plaintive sobs muffling the howling of the beasts below us.

The next day, I felt disoriented from dehydration. Natsu, Gray and I fully understood that we would die out here if we didn't do anything.

We decided to do something brash; we decided on rock, paper, scissors.

The person who lost the game would go down the ladder and distract the dogs while the other two ran away. They'd be a human sacrifice.

Starting the game, I threw rock, Gray threw rock, and Natsu threw paper. He was safe already.

I looked at Gray, our eyes overcast and gloomy. One of us was going to die.

One.

Two.

Three.

I threw scissors. Gray threw scissors.

One.

Two.

Three.

I threw paper, as did Gray.

One.

Two.

Three.

I squeezed my eyes shut, so afraid to look.

"I love you, Lucy." Gray spoke sadly, and it sounded like a farewell.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, but it took me three seconds to comprehend the results.

I'd thrown paper, and he'd thrown scissors.

We all knew what that meant.

Bringing my knees up to my face, I wailed, but my body didn't have enough water to produce tears. "No! No! No!" I cried out repeatedly. "I don't wanna die!"

Natsu and Gray seemed slightly unperturbed, in a survival mode. "You'll be a hero, Lucy." Gray spoke again, desperate.

They wanted to live just as badly as I did.

The tension was so thick in the small room that Natsu started getting violent. "Go!" He shoved me, and I slammed into one of the tree house walls.

It only made me cry louder, and I heard Gray shout at him for hurting me. Punches were thrown, and I opened my eyes just in time to see them both misplace their feet, tumbling through the open door.

I rushed over to the edge, peering down, screaming their names. Gray was silent, stunned, as he hit the ground headfirst, his neck snapping from the impact. He died instantly.

Natsu wasn't that lucky. He fell slower than Gray, screaming all the way down, his body hitting a few thick branches. I heard something snap when he harshly landed on his side.

Three of the wild dogs pounced on Gray's dead body, ripping his clothes off, along with chunks of flesh. I saw the blood glistening off their teeth in the afternoon sun. A petrified shriek tore its way out of my throat, and I watched in horror as they began mutilating my best friend.

Natsu tried to get to his feet, but screamed in protest. His hip had broken from the fall. The other two dogs picked up on his sounds of distress, taking it upon themselves to end his life.

One surged forward, its snapping maw closing around his leg, earning a bellow of pain from him. He tried to drag himself away from the beast, but the other one jumped on his back, tearing into his meat, teeth scrapping against his bones.

I'll never forget the time I spent screaming and crying on the floor of the tree house, my eyes closed and my hands over my ears, somehow still able to hear them eating Natsu alive. He kept on fighting; I could hear his feeble pleas and cries as they ate more of him. The worst part was that he was crying my name, begging me to help him.

Natsu stopped screeching when his blood clotted in his throat, but the gargling noises he was making were much worse. Eventually, he gave into his wounds…

Now I'm writing all this down. It's been a while since they killed Natsu, but they still aren't finished tearing the flesh off his bones.

There's…

There's nothing left, Journal. Gray and Natsu are _dead_.

I heard them get eaten.

I watched them _die_.

And it's all because of me.

If I would have gone down the ladder and sacrificed myself, they would have gotten away, and I would be a hero, just like in the movies.

But now I'm a coward. I doomed us all.

I'm tired now, I'm really tired.

I'm not going to wake up, am I?

* * *

**_June 12__th__, 2010 –_**

I'm still here.

I woke up this morning, my eyelids stuck onto my dry eyes, caused from my dehydration. It's the same with my tongue. It was sticking to the roof of my mouth.

The dogs are starting to leave, since they've had their fill off my friends.

In the early hours of the day, an idea forced its way into my mind.

I've been sharping one large, sturdy stick with another, gradually forming a point on one of them.

Revenge is all that's on my mind. I'm going to kill the ones that are left. I'm going to kill the one that pounced on Gray. I'll kill the ones that ate Natsu. Hell, I'll kill them all for killing my friends.

I'm going to kill the dogs for making my best friends cry.

For making me cry.

For making me scream.

For making me watch my friends get eaten.

This is a farwell, Journal, because tomorrow...

I'll be dead.

* * *

_On July 3__rd__, police forces sent out a search party in the woods, eventually coming across a tree house. There were four bodies, two of dogs, two of people. _

_Forensic units were quickly dispatched, and ruled that the bodies were at least three weeks old – based off the greenish color of the skin, the cracks from internal gases bursting their way out, and the fact that their fingernails were falling off._

_To start to get an understanding of what had happened, the forensics analyzed the bodies. Both were male._

_The man with patches of pink hair had clearly been mauled to death. Then they shifted their attention to the black-haired man. Maggots crawled out of his empty sockets, as it was common for crows to peck out eyes. His spine protruded from a split in his neck, which had been snapped from – what appeared to be – a fall. When they saw that the pink-haired male had a broken hip, they decided that both had fallen._

_That's when they went up the ladder to the tree house, discovering something else._

_A third body._

_This one had bite wounds on her arm and side. Several ribs had been crushed, and her hands consisted of blue colored skin and splinters. _

_Back down to the ground, the animal carcasses were looked at._

_Both of them had puncture wounds, one with a hole going through the top of its head to the bottom of its jaw. A large stick had been shoved into the heart of the other dog. _

_From the splinters found in the girl's hands, they concluded that she had been the one to make the stick and kill the dogs. The injuries she had sustained from the fight had been what killed her, including the starvation and dehydration._

_About twenty feet from the bodies, the forensic team found traces of vomit, the identity of the person's it was unknown. _

_It took a couple days to identify the people, not because their faces were damaged, but because they had been dead for three weeks. After only 24 hours, the face of a person is essentially unrecognizable. This is why it took a little longer to put names to the bodies. _

_The one who had died from the fall was Gray Fullbuster. An average teen that had average grades in school, an average lifestyle, and an average family. Of course, that's why his death was so shocking. Why do uncommon things happen to common people?_

_Natsu Dragneel had been the one with the shattered hip. He wasn't as average as Gray. His mother and father had died in a fire, and then he took on the responsibility of living by himself. In a way, he was an ordinary orphan._

_It was Lucy Heartfilia who had proved to be the most difficult to understand. She was extraordinary in almost every way. Lucy had a huge house, a huge wallet, and a huge backstory. Born and raised in riches, only to have her mother die. Apparently, her mom had been the only parent to love her, but that's just hearsay. _

_What set her apart from the rest was the fact that she had been hit by a bus on her first day of school in eighth grade. Could this have been a factor in her demise? After all, the side with all the broken ribs was, coincidentally, the side that had been hit. That would have been a weak spot for her, and that's why her ribs were so easily crushed._

_The police blew through the case like no tomorrow. It was an animal attack, an accident, something unpreventable. And that was it._

_No questions._

_No second thoughts._

_Nothing._

_They just… moved on to more important cases._

_I didn't, not just yet. _

_Then there is the  
question… who am I?_

_I am a detective, and that's all that's important. I am the one closing this case._

_Although everything is solved, I still have a couple questions, but they'll never be answered._

_Who had been the one to throw up from twenty feet away from the bodies? Someone had stumbled across the whole scene before us, and they never reported it._

_Why did Lucy have a pen? I have long since wondered about that, given that there wasn't anything to write in nearby._

_Where are the other dogs? After analyzing the bites on the bodies, the forensics found that there were five sets of different bites, meaning that there had been five dogs._

_Sometimes, I find myself wondering about the moment when Natsu and Gray had fallen. Had Lucy tried to help them, or did she know that helping them was impossible, that she would die if she went down the ladder? I can't imagine what it was like to be torn in two, one part of you desperate to save yourself, and the other wanting to save your friends._

_Then I think about why she did it. Why did she go back into the tree house? She had gotten wounds, but she killed the dogs. Why didn't she try to go home, get out of the woods? I've thought, on occasion, that she felt guilty. Perhaps she felt bad that she was still alive, and that Natsu and Gray had died. It's called survivors guilt, I believe. _

_In that moment, when she had finished off the dogs, I can picture that she swept her gaze over her friends. Then, while I still am unable to explain why, Lucy painfully walked over to the ladder, giving up on life, climbing up to her coffin. _

_There will never be a time in my life when I forget the horror of finding Lucy, Gray, and Natsu. Even though I am forever closing this case, I know that I'll never have closure._

_Never._

* * *

_At the funeral, there were three people. A rich father, a detective, and a jail bound blue-haired man. It was probably the most unlikely group of people you'd ever see together._

_The father had been the first to leave, but the detective had stayed a bit longer. She didn't know who the other man was, but he didn't realize that she was watching him._

_He was too busy reliving that memory, that memory when he broke up with a certain redhead. After a few months without Lucy, he missed her. Then he went out in the woods, going to the tree house that he had helped Lucy, Natsu, and Gray build. _

_However, what he saw was far worse than he could have imagined. _

_There they were, Natsu and Gray, rotting among the bloodstained grass. Two dogs were slayed alongside them. He'd seen murders before – a side effect of his shady background – but he'd never seen a massacre._

_He knew that Lucy had to have been there, so he closed his eyes tightly, making his way over to the tree house. After climbing it… well, you know what he saw._

_Fumbling with the ladder, he raced down it, truly shaken to the core. With the stench of death so strong, his stomach became upset, and he emptied it on the ground. He ended up running all the way home, and he never told anyone about what he'd seen. Perhaps it was out of disbelief, or out of true, gripping fear._

_The detective stopped staring at the mourning man, deciding that his identity would be filed away into her jar of unanswered questions._

_Among which, she would include the question about what was in the journal that the blue-haired man had been clutching onto…_

_On the Monday after the funerals, school commenced. Hundreds of children stream out of their classes into the hall, packed like sardines in the small pathway. People run, people shove, people fall, and teachers yell._

_Even through death, sorrow, misfortune, terror, violence, and cruelty…_

_the world __**never**__ changes._

* * *

**Ahh, so you've actually made it to the end of this?**

**Congratulations.**

**Now, you see, I understand that people must move on in life. That's not my problem with the world. I have a problem with the world never changing. **

**It really doesn't, if you think about it. We're all born screaming and covered in blood, we live, and then we die. In our lifetime, we may do whatever we please. Some of us create things that change how we live, how we communicate, ect.**

**But in reality, what does it really change?**

**Does it change how we behave?**

**No.**

**It changes nothing. **

**We will always continue to make the same mistakes our parents did, and their parents before them. No one can break the cycle, because when you try, you find that you can't. Society won't let you. There's a _system_ - a _process_ - that everyone has to follow. **

**Why do we continue to bring life into such a pattern-like, horrible world?**

**Hope.**

**We hope that one day, someone will break the repetativeness, and truly make a difference.**

**Let us continue to dream...**

**~Naomi.**


	2. Alternate Ending

**It's here, guys.**

**It's actually here, and totally not perfect. My eyes are so tired, I probably didn't catch errors.**

**Anyways, I finally found my inspiration, and wrote this unhappy alternate ending. It's realistic, though. Just want to point this out before someone calls 'bullshit,' but over half of the things written in here have been experiences in my life. Therefore, there's no way you can tell me that this isn't realistic, because I know firsthand that it is ALL too realistic, sadly. **

**Especially the parts with pulling the plug, looking at the time whilst someone is dying (R.I.P Grampa Godfrey). The bloody shirt thing happened in the original experience. **

**Anyways, to my readers,**

**I love you... so... much.**

***drops onto one knee***

_**MARRY ME~!**_

_*****_**cough***

**No?**

**Well, fine then. I actually meant to say Merry belated Christmas.**

**Geez, I really had you going there for a second, didn't I?**

**No?**

**Again?!**

**WELL FINE THEN, BE THAT WAY. JUST SCROLL DOWN TO THE STORY.**

* * *

The_ search for Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel, and Gray Fullbuster was relentless. Police couldn't find them. It was as if they'd just disappeared into the night, leaving nothing behind…_

_This held true, that is, until they found the dead carcass on the road. A large, fearful looking dog had been struck by a car. Inside the dead animal's jaws was a bloody, ripped shirt. It was the shirt Gray Fullbuster had worn before he went missing._

_Cops started to search the woods, and it didn't take long to find the tree house. The magnitude of the horror was off the charts, and it was heartbreaking to watch the parents cry and scream over the mutilated corpses._

_At first, no one dared to climb up the ladder to the tree house. Either everyone was too upset and afraid to, or they were mourning. One brave man finally ascended, his head of blue hair disappearing as he entered the tree house. Crumpled up in the corner was Lucy Heartfilia, gripping a dull stake. She was on death's threshold. _

_Jellal quickly carried her down, a tiny flame of hope burning in his sickened stomach. He handed her to the paramedics, who rushed her to a hospital. _

_For weeks she was kept in a hospital bed, stuck in Acoma. Throughout the whole thing, Jellal never let go of her hand, sleeping in a chair beside her every night. He wanted to be there when she woke up, because the trauma she had endured was so great that she would need someone to comfort her._

_However, months started passing by, and Jude Heartfilia got the call._

_The hospital was running out of room. Lucy had been there for so long, and she hadn't woken up. And so being, her father told them that it was ok… it was ok to pull the plug._

_Jellal snapped. She was still alive, he told them over and over. Still, his arguing did nothing. He had no say in what would happen to Lucy. _

_While the nurse attempted to unplug the machine that kept Lucy alive, Jellal had enough. He grabbed the white clad woman by her collar, lifted her in the air, and threatened that if she killed Lucy, he'd kill her. That got him kicked out of the hospital, but it was worth it. The nurses were too afraid to even approach Lucy's room._

_At night, the blue-haired man would sneak in through the window, never straying Lucy's side until the first rays of sunlight streamed in through the blinds. He made sure that the nurses knew of his presence, sometimes moving the chair to the other side of the room, placing a vase of flowers on the table beside her bed, etc. He was Lucy's protector, and he wanted the doctors to know that. As long as she was still breathing, even with the help of a machine, he would make sure that she was safe._

_He just wanted her to wake up._

_She did, one day, but it was not how he had pictured it._

_Jellal had been sleeping in a chair beside her bed when he was abruptly awoken by blood-chilling screams. It was Lucy, awake, but crying aloud in pain. The nurses rushed in, ignoring Jellal, and attempted to help her, but there was nothing they could do._

_All the months that she had been there, the nurses never bothered to move her. The blood in her body began pooling at the skin, caused by gravity, and formed huge red bruises all over her. Bed sores, they call them. It takes merely two hours for a bed sore to start forming, so she had some of the worst bed sores the doctors had ever seen._

_She screamed so loud that Jellal's ears started to bleed, and the nurses had to heavily sedate her, trying to temporarily stop the pain. This continued daily, her bouts of shrieking until she was forced back to sleep, only to wake up in agony. Then the process repeated._

_Gradually, her body adjusted to the medication, and she was able to stay awake for a few minutes in a drug induced peace. Lucy wouldn't speak to anyone but Jellal, but all she would say was:_

'_It was my fault.'_

_The doctors ruled Lucy as 'unstable and insane.' She was sent to a mental hospital shortly after, because the current hospital couldn't handle her screaming anymore._

_They never even cared to cure her bed sores._

_At the new hospital, things started to get better with Lucy. She slowly got rid of the bed sores by staying active, regardless of how painful it was. It would have been impossible without Jellal's help, because he always visited and motivated her, even if they could never have a real conversation._

_Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years. Jellal knew that Lucy was never going to be allowed to leave the mental hospital. Still, the blue-haired man tried to get her to speak to him. That one sentence she always said had started to annoy him over time, challenging his patience, and testing their friendship._

_When the last straw had been pulled, Jellal gave her one chance. Their conversation is documented below:_

"_How are you feeling today, Lucy?" The blue-haired man asked, repeating his daily greeting._

"_It was my fault." Mumbling, the blonde stared off into the corner of the room, her brown eyes foggy._

_Jellal kneeled down beside her bed, lightly directing her gaze to him. "I know you're still in there. Please… can you just say something? I don't care what… just something." He begged, frowning in pain. _

"_It was my fault." Lucy repeated._

"_Lucy…" Jellal trailed off, swallowing thickly in disappointment. "I know you can hear me. I know that you can see me. Why won't you say anything other than that blasted sentence?" _

"_It was my fault." In the same monotonous, dull, grating voice, Lucy spoke without inflection._

_Dropping his head in sorrow, Jellal felt his heart breaking. He loved her… he loved her so much. His life practically revolved around her, but he had a life to live too._

_The blue-haired man knew that he would have to explain. _

"_I got offered a job in the Pergrande Kingdom." He stated regretfully, knowing that it was weeks of travel away from where Lucy was staying. "I have to take it, Lucy. I can hardly support myself with the odd and end jobs here… that's why I want you to come with me. We could start over, you know, have a life for once! We could even get married… but first, I'd have to get you out of here. The only way to do that is if you start talking. I know you aren't insane, so you have to show them! I love you, Lucy, but if you can't do this… I'll… I'll leave you." He felt his eyes water just saying it, but he knew that he was telling the truth. "I swear! I'll leave you, and I'll never ever come back!"_

_There was a long pause before Lucy replied. When she finished speaking, Jellal was so stunned that it took him a few seconds to comprehend what she said…_

"_It was my fault."_

_Clenching his teeth, and his eyes filling up his tears, Jellal stood up slowly and left. He didn't leave as the same man, however. He walked in hopeful, and left bitter, soured, and broken inside._

_When the door clicked shut, Lucy felt something warm travelling down her cheeks. Slowly, she stretched her vocal cords, and it took her five minutes to say 'Jellal.'_

_By that time, it was far too late. The horror of being utterly alone crept underneath her skin, shook her bones, and thrashed her organs. She opened her mouth…_

_and screamed._

_She never saw Jellal again._

_A couple weeks after his departure, Lucy could commonly be found sitting in the courtyard by Natsu and Gray's graves. She had never thought to question how they got there, or why there of all places. Perhaps it was better that way, because the truth would most likely send her over the edge._

_When one of the nurses at the insane asylum learned of her backstory, she came up with the cruel joke of placing fake gravestones in the vicinity. She told Lucy that Natsu and Gray had been buried in the back, and watched as she sat beside them daily._

_Even as the blonde cried over the 'graves', no one mustered up the courage to tell her that Natsu and Gray weren't actually buried there. Whether it was out of regret or malice, not a soul will ever know. Regardless, that the nurse never pulled another prank again._

_And there Lucy was, years later, sitting beside the slabs of fake concrete. Something was different this time, something big._

_She was not crying… she was smiling a warm, beautiful smile. It was the kind of smile that made her eyes twinkle, bringing life back into her usually pained expression._

_However, one would wonder why she was smiling. Simply… why? That would be because today was her final day – her day of discharge._

_Unfortunately, Lucy had learned the hard way. She learned that in life, you have to move on, because if you don't, everyone else will eventually leave you behind. _

_Her taboo of speaking was the first thing she worked on. A while back, Lucy began talking to other patients, starting will small talk, and moving her way up to conversations. As soon as she started talking, the doctors started listening, and they began her treatment._

_Lucy used to have a difficult time with her treatments. Therapy and group sessions brought up all the pain and hurt, but once she stopped resisting, she started healing._

_It was a bumpy road to recovery, a very bumpy one at that. She had developed a fear of dogs and heights, and heavens forbid if she heard people arguing! Even with these scars of the past, she continued to improve. After a couple of years, the doctors deemed her fit to be released._

_So she sat down beside Natsu and Gray's alleged graves for the last time. Lucy placed her hands on both stones, closed her eyes, and remembered all the good times she had with her two best friends. And when the blonde had recollected each and every moment, she took out a journal she'd acquired a long, long time ago._

_The gift from her mother was worn, and the bindings barely held the faded pages together. Lucy took out a pen, turned to the very last page, and wrote:_

* * *

_April 30th, 2017 –_

I did it, Journal.

I finally did what Jellal said I could do. He believed that I could get out of here, he believed that I was still fixable.

He was right.

It was so hard at times, but then I always remembered what he said: 'I know you aren't insane, so you have to show them!'

I did show them. I did what they thought to be impossible, and overcame all the odds.

I wonder if he's happy for my success. If he's proud of what I've done.

Or if he doesn't even know at all...

Even so, I'm going to do something the doctors told me not to do. It was their last advice for me not to look for Jellal, because they're afraid that he'll remind me of the past. But I don't need to forget the past. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget what happened to Natsu, Gray, and me. I will never forget everything Jellal did for me.

Regardless, Journal, there are times when you have to leave things behind. Today I am leaving three things behind – Natsu, Gray, and… you.

It isn't like I want to; it's just something I have to do. I can feel it in my bones, and I know that it is time for me to move on.

I really do love you, Journal. I mean it.

I love you.

There aren't enough words to describe the relief you've given me. If I hadn't been able to write my thoughts down, I think I'd have gone insane long ago.

You are the greatest friend I've ever had, really. You were always there, listening, experiencing my life with me, and never requiring anything in return. If I think about it, you're like a part of me.

That's why I'm going to leave you behind, sitting right between Natsu and Gray's graves. Then they will never have to live without me, and I without them.

Now, I think I'll get all choked up if I try to leave you with a serious goodbye, and I don't want to cry anymore. I know that this will sound childish, but I want to pretend as if I'll be back. I mean, maybe by some miracle, you'll return to me.

So… I…

I'll write in you soon.

* * *

_With that, Lucy left the leather journal's fate up to the elements, which soon wore the book down into nothing. It had been a meaningless sacrifice, considering that the graves were phony to begin with. _

_It wasn't the only pointless thing she'd done, because what had been even more pointless was her search for Jellal. _

_It was her love for him that allowed her to go searching for years. She never doubted or questioned anything, because it wasn't in her nature to do so. However, as more time passed, Lucy stopped looking. If it was God's will for them to meet again, then they would. Every day she woke up expecting him to show up at her doorstep. _

_Of course, she started having doubts eventually, but she just waved them off with logic. The Pergrande Kingdom was enormous, so that would explain why he couldn't find her just yet._

_It was an easy pill to swallow. She just continued to believe that he would show up, even though deep down, a part of her knew that he never would._

_You see, three years before Lucy was released, an accident happened._

_Jellal woke up like usual – alone. He picked up some black coffee on the way to work in the Pergrande Kingdom. The blue-haired man was just an average person in the workforce. _

_As he'd presumed, it was almost impossible to live without Lucy. Some nights he just felt like driving all the way back, but his job kept him rooted in place. The only way for him to quell his feelings was to send letters to Lucy. She never wrote back, so he figured that she was angry at him. In reality, the ward Lucy was staying at kept the letters from her, not wanting her to regress. _

_On April 5th, 2014, he went to work like normal... but didn't leave in one piece._

_What happened wasn't preventable. It was by chance. It was by a completely crazy, unlikely chance that his black jacket got caught in a machine at the factory. It was by but another completely crazy, unlikely chance that Jellal wasn't able to free his left arm in time… and the machine ripped it clean off. _

_He was in such shock that he didn't even feel the pain. Once he registered it, however, his agonized howls were loud enough to block out the sound of his severed arm being crushed between metal._

_No one thought he would make it, really. Hardly anyone could survive such an ordeal, and Jellal, well… he was no exception. He died of blood loss well before he made it to the hospital._

_Perhaps it was by yet another completely crazy, unlikely chance that on April 5th, 2014, Lucy glanced at the mental hospitals clock, spontaneously bursting into tears. The clock read 10:54am, which was ironic, because that was the exact time when Jellal was confirmed dead…_

_But there's a couple things you should know._

_Bad things happen to people all the time. Good people and bad people. People who don't deserve the cruel fate, and some who do. Sometimes luck runs out. Sometimes... people die. _

_It's ok._

_Do you know why it's ok? It's ok because there are things in this world that cannot be predicted. Us people just aren't that aware of it though. When we go to sleep every night, do you wonder if you'll wake up in the morning? Probably not. Whether we acknowledge it or not, this could happen any given day. Who says we'll make it until the sun rises? No one. Who says that we won't get into a car accident? No one. Our survival can't be guaranteed, so we should be be thankful for each moment we spend alive._

_Lastly, I just want you to know that sometimes, it's ok to give up. Not everyone can win._

_You can always try again._

* * *

**I don't expect anything from this. If you want to review, go ahead. I can't deny that it makes me feel so much better to hear from readers. And if you don't want to review, you can favorite. There... shouldn't be a reason to follow. I'm sure that this story is over, as much as it hurts to say. I really worked hard on this, so leaving it feels like abandoning a best friend. **

**But, just like Lucy said, there are times when you have to leave things behind. So, I'll just be leaving now, dear reader, and you'll be left behind in the faceless crowd. If you would like to catch up with me, send a PM, review, favorite, or follow (if you want). I'll respond to any of the four actions the second I get a chance.**

**Just remember,**

**I love you all to pieces.**


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